Our first call to the ministry was from two small congregations in southwest North Dakota. The two towns were 16 miles apart and we lived next door to the church in one of the towns. We arrived in town in August and right away I started the practice of heading down town to a local cafe where I knew farmers, ranchers, and local businesspeople would gather for coffee and conversation. It took me a little while to learn who was who and figure out how I might fit into the conversation, but before long those gatherings became a habit for me. On the days when I was working in the other town, I also would have coffee in the local gathering place - usually the Senior Citizens’ Center. I quickly learned that it was a good place to meet church members informally and find out what was on their minds.

I had grown up around farmers and ranchers and the rhythm of the life was not a surprise to me. When the combines were in the fields, the crowd in the cafe was smaller, mostly comprised of professionals. Merchants were often as busy as the farmers and needed to be in their stores to be ready for quick trips to town for parts and supplies. When winter came, the crowd lingered longer indoors. A stop for coffee at the cafe could stretch into an hour or more.

I would occasionally observe that there were occasionally enough church members in the cafe crowd to constitute a quorum for a church meeting. I also learned that the topics of conversation at the cafe were similar to those over the coffee and cookies served following worship in the churches. One thing that happened in those churches that didn’t happen in other congregations we served was that if someone had a vehicle that was hard to start or extra snow to move before feeding cattle they might miss church. That wouldn’t keep that person from coming in for coffee following church. It was a common thing to see someone at coffee who hadn’t made it to church or who had ducked in the door as we were singing the final hymn.

In those years the most common topic of conversation was the weather. At first I had little patience with such talk. I had just graduated from seminary where we had a professor who would interrupt the chatter of a classroom by saying, “I haven’t got time for small talk today.” I had been challenged by teachers to focus on important topics, go dig deeply when studying the Bible, and to get to the problem when counseling others. Those two North Dakota congregations taught me a lot about the different between studying for the ministry and practicing ministry in the midst of a congregation. I had to learn patience. I had to relearn the art of listening. I had to be willing to talk about sports and politics and the weather.

It is a habit that I retain. Looking back at the years of writing in my journal I realize that I write about the weather a great deal. It isn’t that I am not interested in other topics. It isn’t that I am unaware of earthquakes and wars and a climate crisis. It is that I have developed a genuine interest in the everyday lives of the people around me and we are all affected by the weather.

I’m struck this week by the great contrasts in the weather. Friends in the upper midwest are reporting a major blizzard. There was an email from the congregation we served in South Dakota yesterday that announced that the Ash Wednesday worship service had been cancelled due to severe weather. A friend in Minnesota reports that the forecast calls for the biggest snowfall in 30 years - as much as 2 feet or more in a single storm. Temperatures are staying below zero 24 hours a day.

We aren’t experiencing the severe cold or the snow, but we have had a few days of wind and it continues to howl. Wind is blasting most of the west coast of the country. In Los Angeles the winds could top 75mph. Our wind gusts are nearing 40 mph. And we’ve got snow on the way. It probably won’t accumulate much, but I read one article that forecast that all of California would see snow. For lowland coastal areas the snow wouldn’t be on the ground, but would be clearly visible in the mountains. We can see the snow line creep down in the mountains east of us as it accumulates at higher elevations.

Meanwhile, our daughter who lives in South Carolina is sending us pictures of them playing outside dressed in short sleeves in 80 degree temperatures. The high in McAllen, Texas yesterday was 95 degrees. Highs in the 90s will blanket much of southeastern US today with Washington DC nearing 80 degrees.

We live in a big country. Record highs and record lows on the same day. It depends on where you live. Our neighbors to the north, in Canada, won’t get in on any of the warm weather. It will be record cold, snow, and ice for all of their country this week.

Having grown up in a family whose business was flying, I’ve learned to keep my eyes on the weather. I also have studied the science of weather and forecasting in preparation for my private pilot’s examination. I have a fair understanding of weather patterns and I know how to read a weather map. I grew up looking at the clouds and talking about what various cloud patterns meant. I also learned that there were days when it was best to stay on the ground and avoid flying. So I notice things like the fact that over 1,700 flights were cancelled in the US yesterday and an equal number will be cancelled today.

I love to talk about other topics. Last night one of the groups I facilitate was talking about experiences of hiking in the mountains. Participants from our group had summited peaks around the world. Several had hiked around some of the world’s tallest mountains. I really enjoyed the conversation and listening to their experiences. I have mountain experiences of my own to share.

But if you want to talk about the weather, I’m prepared for that subject as well.